Kerim Hadziahmetovic ’99

“One of the most important things I learned at Brimmer and May is to treat people with respect.”

Kerim Hadziahmetovic, Brimmer and May Class of 1999

Boston Police Academy, 2007

Kerim, a Boston police officer, has been with the Boston police department for thirteen years, and currently works with the Gang Unit, which focuses on youth violence and making the streets safer for all residents.

What are you doing currently for a profession?

I am a police officer for the City of Boston. I started in 2000 as a dispatcher with the stolen cars division and became a cadet in 2004. After a year, I started at the police academy. All the hard work paid off when I graduated the academy in 2007 and proposed to my beautiful wife at the ceremony.

My family and I came from Bosnia in 1994. Upon arrival, my sister and I were enrolled in middle school in Roslindale. My parents met a Brimmer and May alum who connected us to the School. I remember walking in to Mrs. Shoolman and Mrs. Reenstierna’s offices for our initial enrollment interviews and needing a translator to help us communicate. What I didn’t know at the time is just how much Brimmer and May would shape and influence my life.

My Brimmer and May experience is one that cannot be replaced, as it still impacts my life on a daily basis. My best friends are those friends that I made at Brimmer and May, and any time we get together we always reminisce about our high school days. My friends Frankie Whall ’99 and Eric Smith ’99, both fellow Brimmer and May alums, were part of my wedding day. There are so many teachers and staff who played a significant role in making my Brimmer and May experience one that I will remember for the rest of my life. These individuals put up with my classmates and me and helped shape our lives in more ways than we could have expected during our days at the School.

My education at Brimmer and May absolutely created a path for my current life. One of the most important things I learned is to treat people with respect. Brimmer and May’s athletic program helped me learn the importance of teamwork and trusting your peers, which is something of importance in the criminal justice field.